Potato-grading machine.



No. 635,406. Patented Oct. 24, I899. C. B. SPEAKS.

POTATO GRADING MACHINE.

(Application filed Feb. 17, 1899.)

(No Model.) 2 shaats sheet I,

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afifvewjbr QZIZM 216% 79% Patented Oct. 24, .1899.

C. B. SPEAKS.

POTATO GRADING MACHINE.

(Application and Feb. 17, 1:399.)

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(No Model.)

Wiinesses UNITED STATES PATENT Fries.

CORNELIUS BARRETT SPEAKS, OF WEAVER, KANSAS.

POTATO-GRADING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 635,406, dated October24, 1899.

Application filed February 17, 1899. Serial No. 705,936. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, CORNELIUS BARRETT SPEAKS, of Weaver, Douglas county,Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inPotato-Grading Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to potato-gradin g machines, and more particularlyto that class wherein is suspended a bag for receiving the potatoes asgraded and the grader proper is tilted by hand in one direction toseparate the dirt and smaller potatoes from those of larger size and inthe other direction to discharge the remaining potatoes into the bag;and my object is to produce a machine of this character which is easilyoperated and is of strong and durable construction and which can bemanufactured and sold at a comparatively small cost.

With this object in View the invention consists in certain novel andpeculiar features of construction and combinations of parts, .as will behereinafter described and. claimed, and in order that it may be fullyunderstood I will proceed to describe it with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 represents avertical section ofa potato-grading machine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a top planview of the same. Fig. 3 is a plan view to illustrate particularly thebag-supporting mechanism. Fig. 4 is a side view to illustrate theposition of the table for insuring the deposit of the unassortedpotatoes upon the grader. Fig. 5 is an enlarged. cross section of. thegrader proper. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective viewof a spacing-blockused in the machine.

In the said drawings, 1 designates a pair of parallel side bars mountedupon intersecting legs 2, which are braced by longitudinal bars 3 and byintersecting cross-bars 4. Secured to and depending fromthe rear ends ofbars 1 are rods 5, and 6 designates a transverse bar or support carriedby said depending rods. A similar pair of vertical rods 7 depend fromside bars 1 a suitable distance from their front ends, fora purposewhich will be hereinafter explained.

S designates an inclined screen overhanging the mouth of the bag (to behereinafter referred'to) and provided with arms 9, secured to the sidebars 1 of the frame. Said screen permits the operator to observe thecontents of the bag and also serves to guide the potatoes therein asthey are discharged from the grader, to be hereinafter described.

11 designates a pair of bars arranged at the inner side of thesupporting-legs and pivoted upon bolts 12, secured to certain of saidlegs. By this disposition of the parts the bars 11 are permitted tooperate vertically, and in order that they may also operate laterallythe holes through which bolts 12 extend are considerably larger than thediameters of said bolts. The bars are, however, held with yieldingpressure squarely up against the legs of the machine by means ofexpansive springs 12*, mounted upon bolts 12 and bearing against theheads of the latter and the inner sides of said bars, as shown clearlyin Fig. 3. By this arrangement it is obvious that the person in chargemay grasp the front ends of the bars and force them inwardly, their rearends fnlcruming against certain supportinglegs of the framework, asshown clearly by dotted lines in Fig. 3. Said bars rest forward of theirpivotal points upon the transverse bar 13, slidingly mounted upon thedepending rods '7 and resting upon the spiral expansive springs 14,encircling said rods and hearing at their lower ends upon the heads orenlargements of the rods, as shown clearly in Fig. l. Said bars atpoints below the screen 8 are provided with upwardly-projecting pins 15,from which the bag a is suspended.

To secure the bag in position with the least inconvenience and greatestdespatch,the front ends of bars 11 are pressed inward, as abovedescribed, and after the pins are engaged with the bag are released andare'pressed toward their original position by springs 12, therebydistending the mouth of the bag to its fullest extent. The springs 14are of sufficient power to keep the bag stretched to its fullest eX-tent, so that it maybe filled to its utmost capacity. The weight of thefilled bag, however, does not entirely compress the springs, as theymust be capable and susceptible of further compression in order that theremoval of the filled bag may be accomplished without injury andexpeditiously.

Referring now to the grader proper, whereby the culls and dirt areseparated from the potatoes, 1o designates a pair of parallel side bars,which are connected at their rear ends by an end bar 17. The connectionis adjustable and is established through the medium of angle-brackets16, carried by side bars 16, and bolts 17, carried by said brackets andextending through longitudinal slots 17" in the ends of the end bar. Bythis arrangement it is obvious that the width of the grader or separatormay be varied.

The side bars 16 near their ends and about midway of their length areprovided with the blocks 18, those at opposite sides being connected bycross-rods 1.), having threaded ends engaged by nuts 20.

The bottom of the grader or separator is of skeleton form, consistingsimply of a series of parallel rods 21, extending longitudinally of themachine and nailed or otherwise reliably secured to the blocks 22,mounted slidingly on said rods 19.

hen the machine is arranged to discharge through the grader only thesmallest grade of potatoes, the sides 16 are moved to the inner side ofslots 17" and the blocks 22 fit end to end, a narrow bifurcatedspacing-block 23 being interposed between the sides of the grader andthe endmost blocks to insure a uniform width of grading-spaces, andwashers 23 are fitted on the ends of rods 1!) to fill in the spacebetween the blocks 18 and the clamping nuts 20. This arrangement ofcourse obviates the necessity of having a long threaded portion andscrewing the nuts clear up to blocks 18.

If more space is desired between rods 21, the sides 16 are moved outwardthe requisite distance and a block ..3 fitted between each pair ofblocks 22 by causing the rod to enter the bifurcations of the blocks,this being accomplished, of course, by sliding the blocks 22 apartsufficiently to receive the spacingblock between them. Of course in thiscase fewer washers 23 are needed. 'When the machine is to grade potatoesof the largest size, the sides 16 are moved to the outer ends of slots17 and two blocks inserted between each pair of blocks 22. In this casethe use of one washer only is desirable. Thus it will be seen that thedistance between rods 21 is regulated at the will of the operator. Theadjustment of said rods by means of blocks 23 is indicated by dottedlines, Fig. 5.

24 designates a cross-bar secured firmly to the foremost pair of blocks18 and pivoted at its ends, as at 2%, in the side bars 1, so as toconstitute a pivotal support for the grader or separator, and owing tothe fact that the rear end is the heavier the grader or separatornaturally assumes the position shown in Fig. 1, resting upon the shelfor support (5 with its upper or open end adjacent to the rear edge ofthe screen 8 hereinbefore described.

Vith the parts thus constructed and arranged it is obvious that it wouldbe practically impossible for the person engaged in handling theunculled potatoes to pour them directly into the bag, because of theinterposed screen, and owing to the fact that the operator can seethrough the screen without difficulty he can always tell whether the bagis full or not and, if full, replace it with an empty one beforemanipulating the machine.

The potatoes as they come from the field are.

poured into the grader or separator, and as they roll toward the lowerend of the same most of the culls and dirt will drop through between therods 21. The attendant then grasps the grader and swings it pivotally tothe position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 4, and thereby causes thepotatoes to roll forward down the grader and into the bag suspended fromthe yieldingly-supported bars 11. In this forward movement of thepotatoes the remaining culls escape between rods 21, as will be readilyunderstood. After all the potatoes are discharged from the grader orseparator the latter is lowered to its original position,

In order to remove the bag a from the bars 11 without injury and withease and despatch, the attendant depresses the front ends of said barsuntil the weight of the bag is mainly supported upon the ground. He thencan easily disengage the bag from the pins 15, as will be readilyunderstood.

From the above description it will be apparent that I have produced apotato-grading machine which is of strong and durable construction, oflight weight, and therefore conveniently portable, so that it may be conveyed to the field and the potatoes graded, if desired, as they areremovedfrom the ground. It is to be understood also that I reserve theright to make all changes that properly fall within the spirit and scopeof the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a potato-grading machine, a suitable framework provided withdepending rods having heads or attachments at their lower ends, aspring-supported bar mounted upon said rods, a pair of bars pivoted tothe framework and resting in advance of their pivotal points upon saidspring-supported bar and bearing at their rear ends against the framework, springs which tend to hold the front ends of said bars apart, andbag-supporting attachments at the front ends of said bars, substantiallyas described.

2. In a potato-grading machine, a grader comprising, an end wall,laterally-adjustable side walls, parallel cross-rods supported at theunder side of the side walls, blocks mounted slidingly on said rods,longitudinal rods secured to said blocks, bifurcated spacingblocksadapted to engage said cross-rods between the sliding blocks, andclamping-nuts engaging said cross-rods, substantially as described.

3. In a potato-grading machine, a grader comprising an end wall,laterally-adjustable side walls, blocks secured thereto, cross-rods uponthe cross-bar, and having that end adjacent to the cross-bar closed andthe other I5 open, the latter registering with the mouth of the bagbelow the screen when the closed end of the grader is elevated,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature 20 in the presence of twowitnesses.

CORNELIUS BARRETT SPEAKS.

Witnesses:

M. R. REMLEY, HELEN RODGERS.

